European leaders worry they’re too reliant on U.S. tech

European governments can reconsider their use of American technology and services, according to A new report in the New York Times.

The flashpoint seems to intervene after President Donald Trump sanctioned Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, about the CPI’s decision to issue arrest terms against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

In response, Microsoft has disabled Khan’s email address. Casper Klynge, a former diplomat who also worked for Microsoft, told NYT that Microsoft’s action has become “the smoked pistol that many Europeans had sought”, pushing them to Look at alternative options. (Some ICC workers would have passed Swiss Email Service Proton, for example.)

“If the American administration will after certain organizations, countries or individuals, fear is that American companies are forced to comply,” said Klynge.

For his part, Microsoft said he had subsequently made political changes to protect similar situations from customers, and he noted that he had not closed the messaging accounts of four CPI judges who sanctioned earlier this month. In addition, this week, CEO Satya Nadella announced new “sovereign solutions” to protect European institutions.